After an increase in student enrollment and overall district growth, those in the Caledonia community will have the choice to vote on a non-homestead operating millage proposal as part of the regular election on Nov. 6.
The ballot proposal requests millage authorization (called a Headlee Override) for the school district over the next two years to ensure that Caledonia schools will be fully funded under the current state law. If the millage passes, property taxes on homeowners will not change. If passed, the tax will return to the same 18 mill tax rate that has been in place since 1994-2018 for owners of industrial, commercial, business, rental and vacation properties. The 18 mills equates to $1,800 in non-homestead tax per $100,000 in taxable value.
The collection of the 18 mills is part of the process of levying and collecting local taxes, and makes up approximately 30 percent of Caledonia’s per student revenue. Currently, the non-homestead tax levy for Caledonia has been Headlee reduced to 17.8452 mills of non-homestead funding. Based on this reduction, this equates to a loss of approximately $71,300 in 2018-2019, or $14 per pupil.
Statement from Superintendent Martin:
“In Caledonia, we have levied 18 mills from 1994 until this current year,” said Caledonia Superintendent Dedrick Martin. “Due to a little known law passed back in the 1970’s known as the ‘Headlee Rollback Amendment,’ the voters’ intentions to continue with the levying of 18-mills on non-homestead property until 2020 will not be realized. Unfortunately, no one was able to predict that this 1970s law would eat away at the spirit and intent of the Caledonia voters in 2015, but we do have an opportunity to address this issue on November 6.”
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